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Fabulous trip on the Beautiful Gem!

GSLMOM

By GSLMOM,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

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GSLMOM

GSLMOM

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Just returned from our week on the Gem! Had a great time! The crew is awesome. Stayed in a suite for the first time. Was spoiled by our wonderful butler, Jayson. Jenny Lin, the hotel director, is loved by her staff only proving what a great person and boss that she is. She is all over the ship and interacts with the guests. Our butler, Jayson, wanted to do whatever he could for us, although we were pretty low maintenance. Carlos, our concierge was very helpful when needed, and also wanted to make us happy. Dan Dan, the cruise director was hysterical. Really enjoyed him!

 

I will be writing a review, but need time to put it all together. So, if anyone has any questions, feel free to ask.

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jjikids

jjikids

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Just returned from our week on the Gem! Had a great time! The crew is awesome. Stayed in a suite for the first time. Was spoiled by our wonderful butler, Jayson. Jenny Lin, the hotel director, is loved by her staff only proving what a great person and boss that she is. She is all over the ship and interacts with the guests. Our butler, Jayson, wanted to do whatever he could for us, although we were pretty low maintenance. Carlos, our concierge was very helpful when needed, and also wanted to make us happy. Dan Dan, the cruise director was hysterical. Really enjoyed him!

 

I will be writing a review, but need time to put it all together. So, if anyone has any questions, feel free to ask.

 

We were on the Gem May 17-24. We also had Jayson as a butler. We wanted to take him him with us. He was so helpful and called us daily to see if he could help us. He told us he is going home soon. When he returns from vacation he will be going to the Breakaway. Unfortunately we did not feel Carlos was as helpful. We are also low maintenance but felt Carlos ignored us. He didn't even greet us when he saw us. Last year we had Ryan as the concierge. He was laid back but he saw him every evening. Carlos we only saw a couple of mornings in the Star bar. He only called on us once the whole cruise.

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cv322

cv322

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We were on the Gem May 17-24. We also had Jayson as a butler. We wanted to take him him with us. He was so helpful and called us daily to see if he could help us. He told us he is going home soon. When he returns from vacation he will be going to the Breakaway. Unfortunately we did not feel Carlos was as helpful. We are also low maintenance but felt Carlos ignored us. He didn't even greet us when he saw us. Last year we had Ryan as the concierge. He was laid back but he saw him every evening. Carlos we only saw a couple of mornings in the Star bar. He only called on us once the whole cruise.

 

Wow, I'm shocked to hear this! :eek:! I thought Carlos was over-the-top helpful & engaging while on the Gem 4/5 ;)! He joined me for dinner twice, always checked in with me at breakfast, arranged for a surprise birthday party for a cruising friend (& brought many of the ships' officers to come sing happy birthday in Teppanyaki! :D)...led us down to disembark at every port...did the same thing on the last morning, when he also stayed with us the whole time while waiting for the ship to be cleared...I loved Carlos & can't wait to be in his care again on 10/27!

 

So sorry your experience wasn't the same...

Edited by cv322
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Magickpyggie

Magickpyggie

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We have sailed with Carlos on four cruises, and have been overwhelmed by his welcomes, seeing him every morning and lunch at Cagneys and having him call round every evening. His man hugs are always welcome and he always strived to make everyone feel special. He even got his own mention in my book Ramblings of a Boss Dog.

 

It must be difficult to be all things to all the people all of the time. If we didn't see him for one day, we would make the effort to say hello the next. Give your Concierge a smile, they are like swans, calm serenity above the waves, paddling frantically below.

 

John and Joan

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

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GSLMOM

GSLMOM

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Did you happen to keep a list of the Bridge Officers, especially the Staff Captain?

 

I'm sorry. I didn't catch the name of the staff captain. However, I do remember that He left the ship in Florida and was replaced with a different staff captain.

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spidybabe

spidybabe

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Love the Gem, and you mentioned two of our favorite people. Jenny is the best hotel director, and it shows with her staff. It is amazing the things that woman does all day...all night. Dan Dan is a great CD. We had a great time with my DH doing the cake battle with him(my DH is a chef) .

Safe sailing

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

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GSLMOM

GSLMOM

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We are a family of four. Myself, my husband, and our two children 21 and 19. This was our 8th cruise with NCL and our first time in a suite. We stayed in a two bedroom suite, cabin 11506. It was gorgeous! I would stay in it again in a heartbeat!

 

EMBARKATION: we arrived at the pier around 11:00 and we were in the waiting room by 11:20. We were on the ship by 11:45. In Cagney's at 12:00. Had a nice lunch and then went to the cabin which was truly wonderful. I would say it is larger than some apartments in Manhattan! Our luggage was delivered pretty quickly. We met our butler, Jayson who was very eager to please us. After his contract is up, he will be going to the Breakaway. He showed us how to use the coffee maker and also the cell phone. We unpacked and went to the muster drill, which was quick and painless. Went up to Bali Hai for sail away, but it started to rain so we went to the Spinnaker. Although it was a great view, I prefer to be outside for sail away! It stopped raining in 10 minutes, so we probably should have just stayed where we were. I ordered the Via Vino package which I believe is a great deal. I got 6 bottles of wine for about $150. We didn't change for dinner since the first night is even more relaxed than usual. We went at 5:30. No lines, no waiting. It was lobster night and I ordered the surf and turf which was outstanding! Probably the best meal I had the entire week. We were done with dinner around 6:40 and went to the Stardust Theater for the Welcome Aboard Show. We "met" Dan Dan, the cruise director who is hysterical. He definitely ranks up there as one of the best! We went to Magnums for a drink and then headed to bed.

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GSLMOM

GSLMOM

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DAY 2

 

My husband and daughter signed up for spin class at 8:00. The gym was packed so I went for a walk on deck 7. We all showered and had a quick bite at the buffet and then it was off to the Meet & Greet, which I had arranged. I arrived early to meet with Etienne, the Group Services Coordinator. He had put together a nice assortment of pastries and cookies and drinks. I brought name tags but it wasn't necessary as NCL also supplied them. Eighty cruisers signed up for the Meet & Greet and I would say about 20 attended. Such a shame. About nine officers attended, including the captain, Jenny Lin, the hotel director, and of course the cruise director, Dan Dan. After the officers left, we all chatted a little and then one of our members, Bonni, arranged a cabin crawl. We weren't planning to participate but we did show our cabin and everyone was glad. Next we went to The Great Outdoors to read and get a bite to eat. This is one of my favorite spots on the ship! This night was NCL's Night Out. We went to the Grand Pacific at 7:00 and again, no lines, no waiting. We skipped the World Beat Show but did attend the Not So Newlywed Game which was very funny. We stayed at the Spinnaker for Norwegian's Night Out party. We had a blast!

Edited by GSLMOM
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jjikids

jjikids

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Wow, I'm shocked to hear this! :eek:! I thought Carlos was over-the-top helpful & engaging while on the Gem 4/5 ;)! He joined me for dinner twice, always checked in with me at breakfast, arranged for a surprise birthday party for a cruising friend (& brought many of the ships' officers to come sing happy birthday in Teppanyaki! :D)...led us down to disembark at every port...did the same thing on the last morning, when he also stayed with us the whole time while waiting for the ship to be cleared...I loved Carlos & can't wait to be in his care again on 10/27!

 

So sorry your experience wasn't the same...

 

So were we. We had heard such good things about Carlos on Cruise Critic and mentioned it to him. We were looking forward to cruising with him. As we said Jayson was wonderful. Our tv and safe were both not working. He called to get service. When nobody showed we contacted him again and he got both departments up right away. He came by and checked on it each day. Carlos only came by once and he never came by our table when we ate in Moderno. He did stop at the other tables. Since he made our reservations, he knew we were there. We even stopped by twice in the mornings to say hello to him at the Star but he wasn't there. There was a young girl taking his place. We did tip him the last morning even though we didn't feel he made our stay better or welcomed us. Of course the tip was based on the service given to us. Maybe being only in a SF Penthouse wasn't good enough for him.

It was our second time on the Gem and our fifth NCL cruise. We will be back.

Good luck on your next cruise with him.

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jjikids

jjikids

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We have sailed with Carlos on four cruises, and have been overwhelmed by his welcomes, seeing him every morning and lunch at Cagneys and having him call round every evening. His man hugs are always welcome and he always strived to make everyone feel special. He even got his own mention in my book Ramblings of a Boss Dog.

 

It must be difficult to be all things to all the people all of the time. If we didn't see him for one day, we would make the effort to say hello the next. Give your Concierge a smile, they are like swans, calm serenity above the waves, paddling frantically below.

 

John and Joan

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

We hardly ever use the services of the concierge. We had heard such glowing reviews of Carlos on Cruise Critic and informed Carlos of it. We only asked three things of Carlos to make two specialty dining reservations and to get us copies of the MDR menus. He kept telling us the menus cannot be done, the chef changes it each day and we should just go stand outside the dining room each day. Last year Ryan accommodated us so we knew it could be done. We talked to Jayson our butler who took care of us promptly. Carlos never bothered to visit us when we were in either Moderno or Le Bistro. He had made the reservations so knew we were there. He basically ignored us when we waved to him while he walked around talking to others in Moderno. We stopped at the Star a few mornings just to say hello. He was off.

Last year Ryan the concierge was there every morning . He always asked how our dinners went. Carlos only stopped by one evening at our cabin to ask how we were doing. That was it. That is seven days and one visit and no phone calls. We are very low maintenance. We usually make all our own reservations. Ryan kept telling last year we were are using his services. We thought okay this year we will use our concierge. Our butler was the best we have ever had. So friendly and warm. The last morning we all hugged and kissed. What a difference. So we did give smiles. They just weren't returned. As we said maybe we were not the suite that mattered.

We do love NCL and will return.

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jjikids

jjikids

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We are a family of four. Myself, my husband, and our two children 21 and 19. This was our 8th cruise with NCL and our first time in a suite. We stayed in a two bedroom suite, cabin 11506. It was gorgeous! I would stay in it again in a heartbeat!

 

EMBARKATION: we arrived at the pier around 11:00 and we were in the waiting room by 11:20. We were on the ship by 11:45. In Cagney's at 12:00. Had a nice lunch and then went to the cabin which was truly wonderful. I would say it is larger than some apartments in Manhattan! Our luggage was delivered pretty quickly. We met our butler, Jayson who was very eager to please us. After his contract is up, he will be going to the Breakaway. He showed us how to use the coffee maker and also the cell phone. We unpacked and went to the muster drill, which was quick and painless. Went up to Bali Hai for sail away, but it started to rain so we went to the Spinnaker. Although it was a great view, I prefer to be outside for sail away! It stopped raining in 10 minutes, so we probably should have just stayed where we were. I ordered the Via Vino package which I believe is a great deal. I got 6 bottles of wine for about $150. We didn't change for dinner since the first night is even more relaxed than usual. We went at 5:30. No lines, no waiting. It was lobster night and I ordered the surf and turf which was outstanding! Probably the best meal I had the entire week. We were done with dinner around 6:40 and went to the Stardust Theater for the Welcome Aboard Show. We "met" Dan Dan, the cruise director who is hysterical. He definitely ranks up there as one of the best! We went to Magnums for a drink and then headed to bed.

We told Jayson we wanted to take him home. A real asset for NCL.

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jjikids

jjikids

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DAY 2

 

My husband and daughter signed up for spin class at 8:00. The gym was packed so I went for a walk on deck 7. We all showered and had a quick bite at the buffet and then it was off to the Meet & Greet, which I had arranged. I arrived early to meet with Etienne, the Group Services Coordinator. He had put together a nice assortment of pastries and cookies and drinks. I brought name tags but it wasn't necessary as NCL also supplied them. Eighty cruisers signed up for the Meet & Greet and I would say about 20 attended. Such a shame. About nine officers attended, including the captain, Jenny Lin, the hotel director, and of course the cruise director, Dan Dan. After the officers left, we all chatted a little and then one of our members, Bonni, arranged a cabin crawl. We weren't planning to participate but we did show our cabin and everyone was glad. Next we went to The Great Outdoors to read and get a bite to eat. This is one of my favorite spots on the ship! This night was NCL's Night Out. We went to the Grand Pacific at 7:00 and again, no lines, no waiting. We skipped the World Beat Show but did attend the Not So Newlywed Game which was very funny. We stayed at the Spinnaker for Norwegian's Night Out party. We had a blast!

We were on May 17-24. There were 49 signed up for our Meet and Greet and only 16 showed up. It was a shame since we also had the Captain and Jenny of course.

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